


A Farm at the Edge of the World

by Chibifukurou



Category: Slime Rancher (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:48:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28141896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibifukurou/pseuds/Chibifukurou
Summary: Beatrix wakes to the sound of rain pattering against the metal roof of the habitation. It’s a soothing sound that makes her want to go back to sleep. It reminds her of the sound of rain back on Earth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	A Farm at the Edge of the World

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Estirose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/gifts).



Beatrix wakes to the sound of rain pattering against the metal roof of the habitation. It’s a soothing sound that makes her want to go back to sleep. It reminds her of the sound of rain back on Earth. Of waking up in bed with Casey, bodies warm and safe in the protective cocoon of blankets. Of that first perfect date where their lives started to meld together.

But the thoughts are like soap bubbles, slowly floating away. Unimportant in the face of her life, now. She can hear the slimes in their enclosure. The rain has got the Pinks excited, the plish plash of their bodies louder than usual. Which means they need feeding soon, before they get mischievous. She doesn't have the lid on their encloser right now. The effort of getting out gives them enrichment and there isn’t much danger with the other corralled in the caves or in with the Hen Hens. The high stone walls helping with the wind coming up off the sea with the storm. 

She’d made sure everyone was well fed and bedded down last night, knowing that the rain made it a day for exploring and gathering supplies rather than working on breeding or using anything but the automated plort collectors. With the rain muddying up her vision and making it harder to keep her footing, there was too much chance for a cross turning into a Tar, or a bad fall ending up with an injury. And the last thing she needed was to scare her babies and have them connect rain storms with something bad happening. 

Then they’d be off their food and she’d be out of plorts every time a squall came up. She pulled on her cargo shorts and a rain slicker instead of her usual protective jacket. Then her boots. She slung her vac pack slung over her shoulders. 

She’d have to be careful of chafing without her regular jacket and its neck padding to keep the vac pack in place. But she never remembered to upgrading her raincoat until it was raining cats and dogs and she was too worried about the possible loss of plorts to want to spend the money. 

The ranch was doing well, she didn’t really have to worry about the missed funds if the slimes have a slow day. But the old worries about money and keeping the shop profitable still nag. By the time she’s been here for a few years, that will hopefully pass, and she’ll have put away enough of a nest egg she can think about sending back for someone to join her on the ranch. Maybe even Casey, though that feels like even more of a soap bubble dream than her memories of them together. 

-

Outside, the rain is coming down warm and steady. The wind picks up her hair and blows it into her face, before she can get her hood up. The smell of sea salt and dust fills the air. Only the slightest hint of cuberries from where they are happily thriving in the spring weather. 

It’ll be a good crop today, and then she’ll be able to go further afield to get some heart beats to make the rock slimes happy. She’s been thinking about getting a few rock tabby largos set up in their own enclosure and she wanted to make sure they had some of their favorites on hand to help with the stress of the transformation. The other farmers she’d spoken with had good results. The Largo form helping with the Rock slime's stress levels when enclosed together, the Tabby instincts helping with pack bonding so they didn’t feel as territorial. 

She’ll still want to move them out into the main area of the farm, further from the Rock slimes, just to be safe. Once she sees how they do, it will be safe enough to move them back to the Hen Hen area where they could enjoy play hunting through the enclosure field. 

But that was for another day. Right now, it was time to stretch her legs. Beatrix waves to the Pinks as she makes her way out of the farm. Maybe she’ll catch them a few new friends to keep them company. It is always best to rotate slimes in and out of the farm when she can. And Pinks weren’t fussy about being re-caught after they’d been released. She is never sure if that was breed into them or they came by it naturally since they seemed to have the largest colonies of the all the slime times on the Far, Far Range. 

There is so much she was only learning now, that she wishes she’d known when she was first starting out. Farmer wisdom for breeding Hen Hens and the best ways to keep your slimes happy and producing. Which Largos could be kept near each other without risking containment breaches and which slimes you needed to make sure to inspect on a daily basis, vs those that were happiest with a weekly inspection so they didn’t get stressed from overhandling. 

There were so many, many things she wished the recruiters had told her when they sent her out here. There had been nearly two months on the ship out she could have been studying. And she’d been in the agency’s network so it seemed pointless for them to have kept things so locked down for fear of some corporate espionage. 

It wasn’t like your average non rancher was going to have use for the information, or like the scientists who had helped set up the ranches hadn't shared all the information they gathered with the investing countries and businesses. 

The decision to use small outposts with no overarching control hadn’t been made on a whim. If the slimes could to be bred and raised in larger, company run farms, someone would have done it, rather than send half trained shop owners flying across the galaxy to start a new life on the company's dime. 

Beatrix sweeps the vacuum tube across the field of carrots, grabbing a few happily splashing Pinks as well. The Jetpack boosts her up the canyon’s side to pull the pogofruit from the trees. Then it’s just one more hop and she’s at the top of the canyon. The craggy maze of rock formations stretches all the way to the sea. Dark gray clouds hang heavy above the water, and the rain makes the colors run like she’s in an impressionist painting. 

This is her life now, her world for as long as wants to have it. She can spend her whole life in the outdoors, exploring, learning. Instead of carefully scheduling weekends and long hikes. The damp air feels like freedom in her lungs. 

She’s finally Home.


End file.
